Anything But Ordinary
by Lost-Cloud
Summary: One egotistical Gryffindor and one Ravenclaw. Follow James in his quest to win the heart of one Lily Evans. Love/Hate. May contain Book V spoilers.
1. Part One

Greetings, greetings to all. I'm back after a very long absence. Anyway this is a small fic I've had in mind for a while now. Enjoy. Any comments welcome weather they be positive or not. The more the merrier. Oh and take note that there may be spoilers from _Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix_. Anyone how hasn't read it should.

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Disclaimer: Just the usual stuff, I own nothing because if I did I would be filthy stinkin' rich. I would like to be filthy stinkin' rich but the sad fact is I'm not.

Oh and the title stinks. I'm not in a very creative mood at the moment. I plan on changing it as the story progresses. Suggestions are more than welcomed.

This will be a L/J story soon, hopefully. Be patient. If you'd rather not then leave.

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Anything but Ordinary

James sat in his seat twirling his quill around. History of Magic was perhaps the most useless subject in James' opinion. He glanced wistfully outside wishing he was outside relaxing under a tree or soaring on his broom.

Besides him sat his best friend Sirius Black. James supposed he was planning a prank against their archrival Snape for Sirius was muttering under his breath "the git doesn't know what waiting for him," in a smug satisfied tone.

Besides Sirius was Peter Pettigrew one of his other friends struggling to keep awake. On his right sat Remus Lupin who was occupied with taking notes as Professor Binns droned on and on.

James glanced around the room as he studied his fellow classmates. The Gryffindors shared this class with the Ravenclaws which he found to be fortunate.

It was bad enough his house shared Care of Magical Creatures and Potions with the Slytherins. James didn't think he would be able to stand Snape _and_ Binns all in one double period.

Again James stared out the window wishing he were outside and not here listening to Binns go on and on about the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy of 1692.

He stifled a yawn as his eyes wandered about the room again and finally settled on a Ravenclaw redhead who was obviously struggling to pay attention.

A small smile tugged on James' lips as he imagined the look of frustration on Lily Evans' face. He had given up trying to pay attention much less take notes for History of Magic ages ago.

Later of course he would read the chapter and question his pal Moony if he had any questions. It wasn't like he cared much for History of Magic, but he James Potter _always _got good marks.

The bell rang interrupting James' thoughts as he shifted back to reality. With one large sweep of his arm he stuffed his belongings back in his bag and stood up.

Out of the corner of his eye he spotted a redhead talking animatedly to a Ravenclaw brunette he knew only by sight. The two chattering Ravens left the classroom, both looking relived to be leaving History of Magic behind.

James turned back to his friends impatient to be leaving the History of Magic classroom. The room was stuffy and made James feel sick. It would help is the windows were opened but Binns never seemed to notice any problem with the lack of fresh air. James didn't blame him, he was after all a ghost, but still he couldn't help but feel irritated.

Sirius he noted had his arm draped around Stacy Smith, a Gryffindor blonde. Stacy sent a flirty smile his way before turning back to Sirius. Sirius winked at James as he and the blonde exited the classroom, probably in search of a more private place.

James shook his head as he watched Padfoot leave before turning back to his remaining two friends.

"He never gets tired of them does he?" he commented to Remus and Peter.

Peter only gave a slight shake of his head while Remus lightly stated "That's Sirius for you."

The three Gryffindors made their way outside to the lake so they could refresh themselves a bit before lunch.

"There's a Quidditch match tomorrow," Peter informed his two friends. "Ravenclaw versus Slytherin" he continued. "Anyone want to place some bets? Remus? how about it?"

"Nah, I'd rather not place any bets."

"Well them what about you Prongs? Common Prongs old buddy old friend, this is the only way I can get that trick box off of you. What do you say?"

"Sorry Wormy but I intend to keep my little box. It comes in handy. The other night it squirted Jefferson with some goop when he tried to touch it. You should have seen the look on his face. Priceless I tell you.

Ah come on you guys, it'll make the match all that more exciting.

"No can do pal." came James' response.

"Spoil sport," mutter Peter under his breath while glaring at James and Remus before breaking out into a smile. "Look, here comes Snape.

James looked up and indeed it was Snape, or Snivellus as he liked to refer to him. A grin etched James' features as he called out to the boy.

"Hey, _Snivellus_ why don't you come over here a minute so we could chat a little. It has been a while since we've has a nice talk. Maybe we could even give you some advice on how to style your hair because the look you're going for isn't exactly in at the moment. In fact, I don't think it's ever been in." James heard Peter snigger besides him as Snape turned, his eyes flashing.

"It's too bad I can't say the same for that tangled mess that is your hair Potter," Snape stated coolly. "I find it amazing" he continued "that your little Mummy and Daddy haven't gotten around to introducing you to a comb."

With that James leaped to his feet and pulled his full 6"5 self him to tower over the much shorter Snape.

"Watch your mouth there Snape otherwise you may find it meeting my fist."

"Tut, tut Potter, I can't believe you would resort to such barbaric ways.

"If you really want to see just how barbaric I can get them why don't you put those books of yours down and face me....unless you're afraid of big mean James." he retorted.

"Luckily for you I have places to be," Snape said in a silky voice. "For you see, _I_ unlike you am a Prefect and have duties to attend to." With that Snape turned and left towards the castle.

James muttered "coward" under his breath but sat back down.

"You shouldn't let him provoke you James" came Remus' voice for beside him. "It's what he wants. He wants to get you in trouble. It would please him very much to see you stuck in detention.

James snorted. "Detention? Please, detention is nothing."

"Still James, it's best to leave him alone."

"Whatever" he said as he spotted a group of Ravenclaw girls sitting in a circle talking. He noted that Lily Evans was among them. His right hand automatically swept to his hair leaving it even more disheveled than it was before.

James smoothed out his robes and walked over to the group of Ravenclaw girls who seemed to be discussing a plan to sneak into someplace, but as soon as he neared them they dropped the subject and quickly pretend to be talking about the weather.

James smiled as he sat down and encircled the waist of one Lily Evans' with his arm.

As if on cue Evans jerked herself away from his reach and glared hotly at him.

"What is the matter with you Potter? Can't I have one moment of peace without you? And I would appreciate if you would stop touching me. The very sight of you disgusts me as it is, so imagine having you touch me." she shrieked.

James noted that her eyes intensified in color when she was angry and decided he liked the way her clear emerald eyes darkened.

"Why can't you ever leave me alone? Not even for a moment am I free of you.."

She continued to rant but James stopped paying attention and glanced over at her friends. He didn't know most of them since they seemed to be all from Ravenclaw with the exception of the one male who appeared to be Slytherin. James wondered how Lily Evans could stand being around such filth but he snapped back into reality when he remember that Lily Evans was still yelling at him.

"Now for the last time Potter just go away.

"Ok I will" James said smoothly. "I'll leave you if you join me next weekend for a little snog in the Astronomy Tower."

James braced himself expecting Lily to explode once again but instead she stormed off muttering about what a egotistical bastard he was.

James noted that Evans' little group was glaring at him so he decided to return back to where he had been with Remus and Peter.

He glumly noted that Sirius had returned and from the look on his face he has witnessed the whole scene.

James plunked himself down again the trunk of a tree while letting a large sigh escape his lips.

"I don't get it, why does she keep on turning me down? It's not because I'm not good looking, or because I'm not smart, or because I'm not funny, or athletic or......

James stopped as his friends burst out into laughter.

After a while their laughter had ceased and turned into comforting faces, at least in Peter's case. Sirius had a grin on his face and Remus simply rolled his eyes.

"That's just it Prongs," Moony began. "Lily doesn't care about all that stuff, she wants someone real, someone who's not bragging out himself all the time and strutting around..."

"I don't strut!" James said as he frowned. "Snape struts but I don't." he scowled.

"You'd be surprised." finished Remus as he opened a book and started to read.

James frowned as he looked out onto the lake. _"I don't strut...or do I..."_

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End Part One

*rubs hands together gleefully* I finished a chapter. Hurrah. On and if you haven't noticed already, I am most definitely not British. I would try to de-Americanize my writing, but then it would seem like I was trying to hard to be British and that never works out. Review if you dare.


	2. Part Two

Sorry about the delay, I didn't plan to take this long. I planned to put this chapter up earlier but I encountered some difficulties from my computer freezing on my to my Internet connection acting up. That and when I did finally try to put this up fan fiction was experiencing some difficulties.

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Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any Harry Potter related characters. If I did, I would be rich and I wouldn't be writing fan fictions. Sirius wouldn't have died and a whole lot of things would be different if I did own Harry Potter. Unfortunately (or fortunately, it really does depend on point of view) I am not J.K. Rowling. 

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Anything but Ordinary 

Part Two

James started moodily at his dinner the next day. He didn't know what to get Lily to like him. He had tried everything. He had sent her flowers, cards, notes, everything. He had asked her out millions of times and yet she never said yes. James just didn't get it. 

He remembered Remus' words _"She wants someone real."_ James was real, wasn't he? James was aware that some regarded him as a bit arrogant and maybe even cocky but what mattered was what he thought of himself right? Apparently he was wrong if he let Lily Evans judgment influence him.

Yet he couldn't think of Lily Evans not being there. She was different, she was special, or at least to him she was. 

James just didn't understand Lily Evans.

He didn't even understand himself. He didn't know what he really felt for Lily Evans. Was this love? Was it a silly infatuation of his? A crush? An obsession? 

Maybe it was just the fact that he couldn't have her. It was almost as if she was out of his league. James didn't see how that could even be possible but it was.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

James stabbed at his lunch not feeling hungry at all. His eyes wandered over to the Ravenclaw table where one Lily Evans sat.

Lily Evans. The petite Ravenclaw who held some mysterious power over him. Lily Evans with her intoxicating eyes of emerald green. The deep pools he wouldn't mind losing himself in. Those vibrant auburn locks of hair cascading down her shoulders and framing her face. She had soft features on her creamy skin.

Yes Lily Evans was beautiful, but so were many other girls in his school. His eyes shifted over to the Hufflepuff table. There was Cindy Sanders. She wasn't bad looking, in fact she was quite the opposite. Smoking hot Sirius would say. But when compared to Lily Evans, Cindy's features paled in comparison, at least in his eyes they did. Cindy was the typical blue eyed blonde beauty but she had the personality of a wall and that was saying something.

James pushed his plate aside and promptly departed the Gryffindor table. Sirius and Peter were still stuffing their faces with food like there was no tomorrow while Remus was reading the _Daily Prophet._

James headed back to the Gryffindor Common Room to think. The day had been rather warm and he was exhausted from his classes. Suddenly he realized just how sleepy he was. All of the teachers had been piling the fifth years down with work to prepare them for the upcoming owls. James couldn't believe the year had come to an end already. In one week all the fifth years would be taking their O.W.L.S. In two weeks they would be packing and heading back home. Two months later they would return as sixth years.

Once in his dorm room James pulled out his invisibility cloak and the Marauders Map. He needed to be alone to think and once his friends arrived the dormitory would be anything but quiet.

James pulled the cloak over himself and sneaked down into the common room that was empty save for three sixth years that had just entered the room. James quietly glided past them and headed out of the portrait hoping none of them happened to notice the portrait seemingly open by itself.

For a while James wandered around aimlessly avoiding crowded hallways so as to not bump into anyone.

Just when he decided to return to the Gryffindor Common Room he spotted on certain Lily Evans chatting with the Head Girl, Corey Mullen, as they headed toward their common room.

Without thinking James decided to follow them.

__

Evans seems to be in a good mood. He though. _Maybe I should just follow her to see what she's up to. Who knows, she might mention me. Or even better, she might confess her undying love to the me. Or she might unknowingly happen to help me win her over._

James grinned to himself as he silently followed the two girls who seemed to be immersed in their discussion.

"No, a surprise party would be too obvious."

"Maybe but what if we throw it a week before her birthday? It'll catch her off guard."

James walked closer to the two so as to hear their conversation more clearly. In his haste however he managed to bump into one of the several knights stationed in that hallway.

"What was that Lils?"

"I don't know it sounded like someone bumped into something."

__

Busted. James though as he edged away. _Just as long as they don't start looking for the culprit._ He looked around for a quick escape route but found none. He knew that he would get it if they found him. He was sure Lily Evans would not appreciate the fact that he had practically been stalking her. And James knew he was in for it if they found out about his Invisibility Cloak, especially if McGonagall got word of it. _This is it I'm done for_,_ not only will I get the cloak confiscated but I won't have any hope left of winning her over if_ but his thoughts were interrupted by the Head Girl's voice.

"It's probably just Peeves."

"Probably. Let's get going before he throws used gum at us or tried to pull any stunts on us."

With that James turned to leave but promptly began to follow the two Ravenclaw girls when he heard Corey speak.

"You wouldn't happen to be dating anyone now would you Lils?"

A smile spread across Lily's face as she replied. "Of course not. Of all people you should know I don't date Cor."

"I'm just saying you should. I mean it's about time you started. There are plenty of guys who would like to go out with you."

James heard Lily give a small laugh but he couldn't see her facial expression.

"Yeah guys like Potter."

At the mention of his name James put all his concentration of their conversation. With some luck he would hear something good, something useful. 

"Speaking of Potter he's a good-looking one."

"That may be so but even if he was the handsomest guy in the world he would still be a prick."

James' heart gave a small jolt ad a smug expression crawled over his face. _She thinks I'm good looking!_

"Honestly Lily only you would be crazy enough to reject him as much as you do. You realize he's asked you out nearly every week and you turn him down every time. If he asked _me _out I would say yes in a second. Mind you I don't date younger men so you won't see us together anytime soon. Give me five reasons why you won't date him."

By this time they had reached the entrance to the Ravenclaw Common Room. The statue of Ptolemy sprang open to reveal the entrance to the common room after Lily's friend uttered the password (_mandrake.)_ James scrambled in not wanting to miss out on the conversation between the two friends.

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End Part Two

Well that's all for now. I know the ending wasn't very good but I want this up. I think it's unfair that I keep anyone who wants to read this waiting for so long.

Thanks to everyone who took the time and reviewed. 

Lol. I know I said I'm not even going to try and de-Americanize my writing but I have slipped in a few British terms just because I've been reading Harry Potter and HP fan fics for way, way too long. I'm off then.

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Review!!! You know you want to.


	3. Part Three

Hello to you all in fan fiction land. It's great to see you all so soon. As promised the next part of my story.

In response to **x-woman** I really don't know if Lily is in Gryffindor or not. 

A great thanks to everyone who reviewed, you all brightened my day.

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Disclaimer: The usual I do not own Harry Potter or any Harry Potter related terms. Believe me I wish I did but I don't. I'll give you all a call if I mange to gain some ownership over Harry Potter though.

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Anything But Ordinary

Part Three

As James entered the Ravenclaw Common Room he couldn't help but think it might give Gryffindor Common Room a run for its money. The Ravenclaw common Room was wide and spacious. The left wall was lined with bookcases filled with books.

__

No wonder Lily is hardly in the library. James though. He had sometimes gone in there to look for her but he rarely spotted her in there.

James hoped the girls weren't headed for any dorm room for even he hadn't found a way to get up there yet. He seemed to be in luck though for the two friends chose a secluded corner or the room to talk in.

James didn't see why they needed privacy, the room was empty as most people were outside enjoying the warmth the day offered them. 

He quietly followed then and seated himself on a nearby pouf so as to be close enough to clearly hear them but far enough so they wouldn't detect him. Not that it mattered though since he was invisible but James wasn't taking any chances.

The last thing he needed was to be given detention for it was the end of the year and the O.W.L.S were just around the corner. He needed some time to study. He didn't find studying the least bit interesting but he also couldn't have his parents on his case when he received his marks.

His line of thought was broken however as the two friends picked up their conversation from where they had left and began to talk.

"You still haven't given my five reasons for why you won't give Potter a chance."

"I don't see why you're making a big deal out of this it's not like I even like Potter."

"Fine then you don't have to date Potter but then why not date someone else?"

"Haven't we gone over this before I don't date and you know why."

"Oh come on Lily you'll have to date eventually. Just because you've had some bad experiences doesn't mean you can just cut yourself off from people."

"I don't 'cut myself off from people' like you say I just don't date."

"Honestly Lils you're impossible to argue with."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"I don't see why but have it your way."

"Now back to Potter."

Lily sighed with a frustrated look on her face. "All right we'll talk about Potter. I don't see why but we'll talk about him."

Corey Mullen simply rolled her eyes and began. "I don't see why you won't give him a chance. I mean he obviously likes you."

"He doesn't _like_ me he just can't stand the thought of being rejected" she started in a clearly satisfied tone. "As if I would fall for his so called _charm_."

"You still haven't given me five reasons on why you don't like him- ok on why you can't stand him" Corey shot back.

Lily shot her a glare before beginning to tick off reasons on her fingers. "Well for one he's arrogant and ever so pompous."

"So are you." 

"Two," Lily continued ignoring her friend "he's annoying. Do you know he's constantly following me around. I don't appreciate having a stalker to deal with."

"Well that's a valid point but he's not that bad. He's funny for one thing. I know for a fact funny gets to you."

"That's not the point. Three he's always messing up his hair. He could try fixing it. And worst of all he seems to think it makes him look good when he does that."

"Why do you even pay attention to that? Only someone who's looking for a reason to dislike a person would even mention that."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Lily sniffled. "Fourth he's always pulling some lame prank on people. They're not even funny and yet half the population drops at his feet. _"Oh Jamie that was soooooo funny." _ Ugh."

"They're not that bad Lils. The one he pulled on Snape last week was funny. I've never seen him angrier. His ears were smoking all day long."

"Why don't you go out with him then? I'm sure he'd _love_ to go out with a seventh year. It would make his stupid ego even bigger. It's a wonder he can support the weight of his head during all that strutting he does."

~*~

All the while James was trying to keep his anger from going to his head but she had said the one thing that he couldn't stand to hear. He, James Potter, did **not** strut. 

Maybe he should just move on, since from what he gathered Lily Evans was impossible.

It would be so simple to just ignore her for the rest of the year. Sure he still might be plagued with thoughts of her but his pride would remain intact. 

That's what mattered right? His pride. The only reason he was after Evans was so he could prove he could have anyone he wanted to right? So then why did it matter to him to have her approval? 

Why did it matter to him if she liked him or not? Why....

~*~

"You still haven't given me a fifth reason Lils."

"Huh what? I gave you five didn't I?"

"No you gave me four and then you started ranting about how impossible he is."

"I could swear I gave you five. Okay then he's...James Potter is.....The fifth reason I won't go out with him is..........He's..."

"Ha! You see you can't come up with five reasons! You can't dislike him that much if you can't come up with five reasons."

"I can too dislike him. Who says I need five reasons to explain myself?"

"Well until you deliver me a fifth reason I won't stop bothering you."

"Is there some Annoy Lily Evans club that I don't know about because if there is I'm sure you and Potter would make excellent leaders for it." Although James could tell Lily was a bit annoyed a small smile covered her face as she threw a pillow at Corey.

"Well it's not an Annoy Lily Evans club its more like an Irritate Lily Evans club" she started as she ducked the pillow Lily had sent her way.

"You know for someone who's on the Quidditch team you have an awful aim."

"I'm only on reserve. Besides, whoever said I was any good." Lily countered with a small smile.

"You know what it's stuffy in here. Why don't we go outside and push someone into the lake? We might as well enjoy the last twenty minutes of our break before we have to go back to those dreaded classes of ours. Do you know McGonagall assigned us a five-foot essay? Five feet! She must be crazy. I have enough work as it is...." 

"You're hopeless you know." With that the two girls crossed the Common Room and exited leaving behind one pensive James Potter under an Invisibility Cloak.

~*~

Later that day James sat in Charms thinking about the conversation he had overheard. The good thing about this class was that it was no one paid any attention to others. Most people were having too much fun to bother others.

James had no idea as to why Lily Evans didn't date and what these experiences of hers were but he couldn't stop thinking about her. From what James had gathered she rejected him because she could.

So maybe what he had to do was make her an offer she couldn't refuse. Now what could she simply not refuse? Seeing as he was not a female he had no idea what he could offer her. The female mind worked in ways even he James Potter could not fathom. Someone needed to write a book to explain this all to him.

James' eyes flew open at the thought! _A book! _Why didn't he think of it sooner? There must have been others in the past that had been in similar problems. There must have been someone who bothered to write about how the female mind worked.

Moony always consulted books when he was in doubt so why shouldn't it help him?

~*~

As soon as the bell rang signaling the end of Charms James gathered his belongings and rushed off leaving his friends behind in bewilderment.

All he needed to do was find a book that explained to him how in the world the mind of a female worked.

~*~

As soon as he set foot inside the library it was clear to him however that finding that magical book might be harder than expected.

First of all he didn't know where to start so he headed for the magazine section from which he found hundreds of issues of magazines. He picked up the first issue of he saw and glanced down at it.

A smiling witch waved at him while the cover read "Finding the Right One: How to know if he's the right one."

James flung the magazine back onto the shelf and decided to take a look somewhere else. Magazines weren't reliable sources anyway.

A while later James Potter emerged covered in dust from the Muggle section of the library. It seemed like Muggle writers had been trying to decipher the female mind for ages. Good thing too because he was beginning to lose patience.

Soon enough he would be able to figure out Lily Evans. This though made James so happy that he didn't even mind when the librarian Madame Pince looked at him strangely for his choice of books.

When James returned to the Gryffindor Common Room he immediately made a beeline for his dorm room. He needed peace to tackle the heavy books he had checked out.

He opened the smallest volume and after coughing several times he started reading.

Five minutes later James impatiently shut the book causing up a cloud of dust to rise. He glared at the book. The introduction had been boring at the most. It described his problem but didn't say how to solve it. Even worse the language simply drove his mind in circles.

There has got to be an easier way he though. Hurry think what would Moony say?

Bingo!!!

__

That's it Moony I'll ask him. Who needs books? The crazy Muggles who wrote these books don't know what they're saying. Of course the female mind is hard to understand otherwise why would I be reading those dusty old books in the first place?

With that James carelessly shoved the books under his bed and left to find his good friend Remus Lupin.

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End Part Three

Whew that's done. My longest chapter yet. Of course this is only the third chapter so there might [and hopefully] will be longer chapters to come.

Hehe. That was one long conversation Lily and Corey had. Took up half the chapter.

Again thanks to everyone that reviewed before.

I wrote this all in one sitting. That's a record usually I write a bit at a time. I have some great ideas for new stories but I don't work well at writing multiple stories at the same time.

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Remember, review! Just click on the little button and tell me what you though.


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